Bob & Co will raise money through the EIS scheme, along with India’s Cinestaan Film Company, who partnered with Film London on the initiative in April.

The project will involve six teams of Asian writers, directors and producers from the UK and India honing ideas for Shakespeare-themed features in an intensive week-long microschool, which is to be funded by the British Council.

At the end of the microschool, one project will be selected and will receive the production funding.

The project also hopes to address the lack of diversity in filmmaking talent throughout the UK.

Mentors on this year’s scheme are: producers Andrea Calderwood (The Last King of Scotland) and Tristan Goligher (45 Years); actress Nandita Das (Earth); writer and director Amit Gupta (Resistance); script developers Angeli MacFarlane (Death of a President) and Shefali Malhoutra (The Lady); editor Mick Audsley (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire). Rahul Merchant will provide guidance on Indian distribution.

Guest speakers at the microschool during the project will be directors Ritesh Batra (The Lunchbox) and Pete Travis (Dredd) Artificial Eye’s head of theatrical Jonathon Rushton and SampoMedia founder Pete Buckingham.

Film London chief exectuive Adrian Wooton said: “Securing two commercial investors from both India and the UK is a major achievement.”

“It is hugely exciting to forge new partnerships and routes of finance to provide our teams with such a fantastic opportunity – with the longer term aim of strengthening links between the two industries and helping more talented filmmakers start their careers.”

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